‘Incompetent’: Ray Hadley blasts Don Harwin over council nominations failure

Ray Hadley has delivered a scathing attack on the NSW Liberal Party president after the party missed a crucial deadline to file paperwork for about 140 candidates.

Ray Hadley has delivered a scathing attack on Don Harwin after the Liberal Party missed a crucial deadline to file paperwork for about 140 candidates.

The embattled NSW Liberal Party president, in a desperate bid to save his job, wrote to the NSW Electoral Commission on Friday demanding an extra seven days to finish submitting the nomination forms of Liberal council candidates.

On Saturday night, it was revealed that request had been knocked back.

Hadley unleashed on Harwin, labelling him as “stupid and incompetent.”

“We’ve got this ridiculous alleged legal challenge against the Electoral Commission, blaming them for his complete and utter stupidity and incompetence,” he said on his 2GB program on Monday morning.

Ray Hadley, 2GB broadcaster.

Hadley claimed Harwin sent a letter to Chris Minns on Saturday night, asking for help to get him off the hook.

“I MC’d the Premier’s Olympic thank you dinner on Saturday night, and in fact I had a detailed conversation with the Premier Chris Minns who actually told me that day he received a letter from Harwin asking for help, to get him off the hook,” he said.

“There’s a deadline there for a reason you galoot, so we have a bloke so dumb, so dumb, he thinks the Labor premier is going to assist to get out of trouble brought on by his own incompetence.”

But in a statement later on Monday Mr Harwin said he never sent any letter to Mr Minns.

“Earlier today a media outlet reported that, allegedly, I sent a letter to Premier Minns about local government nominations,” he said.

“This is false, no such letter exists.

“The only communication that the party has had with anyone associated with the NSW state government on this matter has been the NSW Electoral Commissioner.”

The Liberal Party’s federal executive, including Mr. Dutton, Deputy Leader Sussan Ley, and senior shadow ministers Michaelia Cash and Simon Birmingham, is scheduled to meet on September 3 to review the tumultuous nominations process.

This meeting could result in the NSW division’s current executive, led by state president Don Harwin, being stripped of its control.

It comes as pressure mounts on Mr Harwin him to step down and for Liberal leader Peter Dutton to launch his own independent inquiry into the bungle.

In a statement issued on Friday, the NSW Liberal Party addressed the howling error.

“What occurred this week is simply not good enough,” it said.

“We recognise the frustration and disappointment this has caused to our candidates, members and the broader community, and we are moving forward with a comprehensive plan to ensure this never happens again.”

NSW State Liberal Party President Don Harwin on Thursday. Picture: Matrix

Former state director Richard Shields near his home on Friday. Picture: Tom Parrish

The state executive has already sacked state director Richard Shields but others said Mr Harwin also needed to share some of the blame.

In a statement issued on Friday, the NSW Liberal Party declared the howling error was “not good enough”.

In an email to members, party country representative Blake Keating – who is also a member of the party’s state executive – said the Liberal Party now needed to “address the accountability” of Mr Harwin at the next State Council meeting.

“Richard Shields was responsible for the execution of this ill-fated master plan regarding local government; he was not, however, the architect,” Mr Keating said.

“It is imperative that the State Council address the accountability of the state president, Don Harwin.”

It is understood the state executive can move a motion of no confidence in Mr Harwin, who can only be formally sacked by a meeting of the state council.

A Liberal MP from Mr Harwin’s moderate faction claimed he had been spared because it was the view of the majority of state executive members that he was the victim of the right faction who had blocked attempts to change the party constitution in February that would have fast-tracked the endorsement process.

Instead, the changes were made in May, meaning Mr Harwin only had a little over two months to finalise the endorsements.

“He was spared because the delay was the fault of the right wing, which twice blocked the constitutional changes necessary to allow those endorsements to occur,” the MP said.

The party on Friday declared it had temporarily installed party affairs manager Wilson Chessell as the interim state director until a recruitment process occurred. Mr Chessell will oversee Saturday’s Epping preselection.

Cartoonist Warren Brown’s view of the debacle.

Over on Sydney’s northern beaches, almost 900 Liberal Party members have been invited to a meeting on Wednesday to hear from Northern Beaches councillors who have lost their jobs, including deputy mayor Georgia Ryburn who is now being wooed by some Liberals to run as federal candidate in the seat of Warringah.

Members will also vote on a motion calling for an investigation into the bungle, and – should it find Mr Harwin or the state executive culpable – whether they should be replaced.

The fiasco has denied 140 candidates the opportunity to run at the upcoming local government elections across 16 councils.

Mr Shields, who as of Friday is understood not to have received any payout, declined to comment on his dismissal, saying it would be a breach of party rules.

A source close to Mr Shields said his sacking late on Thursday night had followed Mr Shields’ requesting to take questions on notice instead of answering questions at the meeting.

“He had no sleep for 72 hours and requested to take questions on notice,” the source said.

“He later learned he had been dismissed.”

It is understood Mr Shields’ lawyer was speaking with the party’s lawyers over his termination.

Party officials are now urging former state director Chris Stone who worked for ex-prime minister John Howard and is considered a “safe pair of hands”, to step in to replace Mr Shields.

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Originally published as ‘Incompetent’: Ray Hadley blasts Don Harwin over council nominations failure